A light drizzle taunted Point Reyes Vineyard co-owner Steve Doughty last week as he examined his grapevines, worrying Marin County's lack of rain will create a bummer crop this year instead of a bumper crop of wine grapes.

His vineyard is one of about 15 in Marin, all of which have been hit hard by the state's drought. With less rain falling in the county in 2013 than in any year since 1929, there's reason for vintners to worry. Many are securing crop insurance and preparing for a dismal year despite some rain this week.

"With no water, the grapes are going to die. That's the simple fact," Doughty said.

Doughty's family usually harvests their 13 acres of sparkling wine and cabernet grapes in Point Reyes in September or October, and during the winter months the vines go dormant, essentially hibernating. Before they begin to bloom in the spring, the vines are pruned to control the quantity and quality of the fruit.

But this year there hasn't been enough water to properly put the grapes into a revitalizing slumber, throwing off their budding cycle.

"Even though the grapes are dormant, they need water to live and survive," Doughty said. "What's hurting us now is the fact that it's so warm. The grapes want to bud, but we don't have them pruned yet."

Vines typically start budding around March, and this year's early activity puts the vines at risk for frost damage if winter weather comes along in the next few months. Most vintners are in the process of pruning their vines in a way that factors in an anticipated lower yield of fruit.

While Doughty has purchased crop insurance almost every year since his family began bottling their wine about 20 years ago, this will be the first year Kendric Vineyards, which began in 2001, has relied on subsidized help.

Stewart Johnson, owner of Kendric Vineyards, said he recently met with a crop insurance inspector to insure his nearly nine acres of pinot noir grapes near the Novato-Petaluma border.

"It's a very good year to have it," Johnson said. "This is pretty unprecedented. I've never seen it this dry, and there's no grass either."

Like Doughty's vineyard, the water used to irrigate Johnson's vineyard comes from a reservoir — a water storage lake or pond with limited resources.

"We're seeing a bone-dry reservoir, which is frightening," Johnson said. "It's never been quite like this."

Mark Pasternak, owner of Devil's Gulch Ranch in Nicasio, agreed. In the 42 years he has been in Marin, this is the first year he's purchased crop insurance for his 18-acre pinot noir vineyard.

"I would venture to guess almost every grape grower in the North Coast is signing up for crop insurance," Pasternak said. "Almost all of the vineyards are dependent on rain either on a reservoir or on wells that are directly refilled by rainwater."

Of even bigger concern to Pasternak than the lack of rain is the miniscule Sierra Nevada snowpack, which is at 12 percent of normal according to the state Department of Water Resources. He said the entire state is dependent on the snowpack and its runoff, especially dairies and farmers. He expects the dairies and cattle ranches to be hit the hardest by the drought.

"Even if we had record snows for the rest of the season, we wouldn't have enough," Pasternak said. "There are some significant challenges that are going to be facing us."

"We're much better off than the cattle ranches and dairy farmers," Grossi said. "I think we're going to see a significant reduction in cattle herds in the next couple of months."

Though Grossi has enough water to irrigate his vines this year, he's purchased crop insurance just to be safe. He's crossing his fingers for a wet February, but is prepared to expect a smaller crop.

"We may actually limit production a bit by pruning heavier," Grossi said.

Pacheco Ranch Winery owner Debbie Rowland is preparing herself for a smaller crop this year, but is better off than some growers because she doesn't depend as much on water.

"We're a little unique because we dry farm our grapes like they do in Europe," Rowland said. "We just depend on those vines reaching down and getting what groundwater is there."

Rowland's seven acres of cabernet sauvignon wine grapes in Novato were originally planted in the early 1970s, surviving the devastating drought in the mid-1970s. She said the roots stretch down about 30 feet, searching for water.

While irrigating wine grape vines does produce a more plentiful crop, some growers like Rowland believe the grapes taste better if the vine has to struggle a bit.

"We'll just have to see what Mother Nature gives us," Rowland said.

Growers like Pasternak, who sits on the board of the Sonoma County Winegrape Commission, are rethinking their decisions to grow vines heavily dependent on irrigation instead of the types of vines grown by people such as Rowland.

"The idea that you might really want rootstocks that do not need irrigation is a big deal and there's a lot of people who are kicking themselves, myself included," Pasternak said.

This year Doughty is going to attempt to dry farm his vineyard as much as possible, but he would ultimately like to bolster his vineyards instead of likely scaling them back. He owns about six acres of cabernet vines in Terra Linda near the Villa Marin retirement community that are in need of attention.

"The vines are starting to die. We want to replant them, but there's just not enough water," Doughty said.